The Pleasure Chest is the oldest and most trusted sexuality boutique in the country, and we understand the importance of discretion. We ship every order in a plain brown box, with PC LTD on the return address. PC LTD (not The Pleasure Chest) will appear on your credit card statement.

Archives

Categories

Are you looking for a little guidance when it comes to your sex life? You could try a sex ed standard like The Guide to Getting it On or something a little lighter, like the comic-style Sex is Fun. Alternatively, you could go with the 1680 advice manual The School of Venus, whose illustration above may or may not depict an early sex shop. We hope it does.

For a brief history of this and other sex manuals throughout history, check out this guide from Nerve.

The next two folks that we’re profiling in the lead-up to Gloryhole are triple threats: authors and educators as well as performers. They’ll be joining forces at the event!

Jiz Lee is a genderqueer adult performer straddling genders and porn genres, with over 200 projects from indie and mainstream, American and International porn houses under their belt. In 2010, Jiz was awarded Feminist Porn Award’s Boundary Breaker, a defining moment within their exploits in adult. Throughout the years, Jiz has their fingers in a lot of good places: they moonlight behind the scenes at Shine Louise Houston’s Pink & White Productions (CrashPadSeries.com, PinkLabel.tv), and run the erotic philanthropic Karma Pervs.

It was through pornography that Jiz began writing as a contributor in various web and print publications, from Jezebel.com to the recent academic sensation: The Feminist Porn Book!

Jiz hopes to bring authenticity and diversity to sex in porn, and to help culture more understanding and open-mindedness around sexuality in general. Walking that talk, Jiz is currently taking on their most challenging project to date: coming out to their family about P-R-0-N. The result is a powerful conversation, channeled into their forthcoming anthology: How to Come Out Like a Porn Star: Adult Industry Essays on Family Matters. Ever fascinated by the radical potential of sex, love, and art, Jiz runs a personal blog about sex work as a medium for social activism at JizLee.com.

Allison Moon is the author the Tales of the Pack series about lesbian werewolves and the upcoming sex-ed roadtrip book Girl Sex 101, which is Kickstarting now. In addition to writing Allison is a sex educator who has taught workshops on topics of lesbian sex, strap-on sex, pegging, gender, polyamory, and more across the US and Canada. Find her at Girlsex101.com.

You can find Jiz and Allison in the gloryhole on the night of the event.

We love good erotica, but we won’t deny that there’s a unique pleasure in reading really, really bad smut. If you understand the joy of wondering, “Why would he use that metaphor? Why would anyone ever use that metaphor?” then you’ll get a kick out of The Telegraph’s compilation of the top ten worst sex scenes in modern literature.

Part of what makes this fun is that the authors whose work is being singled out are widely-published and even celebrated: the quote above is from Tom Wolfe. We feel okay poking fun at Tom Wolfe in a way that we wouldn’t feel if we were laughing at a stranger’s slash fan fiction.

Of course, bad sex – like all sex – is subjective. Still, “like a lepidopterist mounting a tough-skinned insect with a too blunt pin he screwed himself into her” is, at the very least, memorable.

Do you want to seduce and arouse your partner using only your voice? Or are you more hands-on, and just want to tie them up skillfully? Either way, Midori can help. The sex ed celebrity and author of The Seductive Art of Japanese Bondage will be in West Hollywood on Sunday, September 29th teaching two amazing workshops.

Become an artist of seduction and pleasure, like the great courtesans and legendary lovers of the past. Their erotic voice and sensual storytelling were among their most potent skills.

- Learn how to use the hypnotic voice to seduce and arouse your lover long before you enter the bedroom.
- Gain effective and surprisingly simple voice techniques to arouse both your lover and yourself.
- Mesmerize your lover and transport both of you to an erotic landscape.
- Learn to build and enrich a powerful fantasy, practice effective voice techniques and spellbinding.
- You’ll learn techniques of finding out your and your lover’s fantasy.
- Practice sensual storytelling skills and improve them with Midori’s effective technique.
- Spicy demos, practical exercises, tips.

Both workshops are open to singles or couples of all genders and orientations. Attendees must be 18 or older.

We love our gadgets as much as anyone, but when it comes to erotica, we’re not about to get rid of our paper books. Since the internet is an embarrassment of pornographic riches, it’s nice to be presented with a curated collection of stories by published authors, edited by professional editors. A book is not going to tell us to install updates right in the middle of the fun. Your digital copy of Delta of Venus is not going to smell like vanilla. (Don’t get us started on how good old books smell.)

Editor Winston Gieseke published a piece on Queerty recently that made a great case for erotica in general, and for the printed word in particular. He talks specifically about gay erotica, but most of the points he makes apply more broadly.

“Obviously, all types of reading provide us a respite from everyday reality, but sexy stories take the escape a step further, providing the safest possible environment — namely, your mind, which houses your most robust sexual tool, the imagination — in which to contemplate and explore the various fantasies you might not wish (or be able) to experience in real life.”

Besides, he points out, “a book is tactile. Which is important because many people like to “touch” when reading erotica, whether it be flipping pages, earmarking your favorite scenes, or something else.”

Not to mention that you’re definitely not going to read your Kindle in the bath.

Want to have him squirming in his seat? Our Sex Specialists will show you how to use your mouth, hands, and more to give mind-blowing blowjobs. We’ll cover male anatomy, tips and tricks, the truths and myths of “deep throat” plus other sexy secrets that are sure to have him begging for more.

Looking to bring some excitement into your love and sex life? Domi Dollz has the answer! Join famed Dominatrices and authors of the book “Kisses To Kink: A Dominatrix’s Guide To Great Sex” Nina Payne and Mona Rogers, who will provide insight into the fascinating psychology and practices of BDSM. Kink is much more than just whips and chains; it can also be soft, sensual, liberating, and a great creative outlet. This beginner’s workshop provides a warm and welcoming environment for all genders to have fun while trying out hands-on techniques

Our Sex Specialists share tips and tricks to get you in the spirit of giving and receiving amazing oral sex. We’ll cover anatomy basics, giving mind-blowing blowjobs, eating pussy like a pro, lending your mouth a hand (literally) to please your partner, and the best toys to accessorize your licks, sucks, and squeezes.

Learn how to take it off like a pro! Join Sex Specialist Kitty Cadillac as she shows you how to tantalize and tease your lover in the bedroom. Put on a private show they won’t forget. She will guide you through hot exotic dance moves, sensual glove and stocking peels, and how to give a sexy lap dance. It’s role playing at its finest!

Want to know more about your or your partner’s clitoris? Or do you just like winning arguments? (We do.) Either way, Em and Lo, authors of Sex: How to do Everything, have the facts. Did you know that the clitoris is the only organ that exists only for sexual pleasure? (We’re not sure which argument we’re going to win with that one, but we’re glad we know it.)

You can check out Em and Lo’s collection of clitoris facts here, and commence gloating over your new knowledge. If you want to get really fancy, use it as a jumping-off point to do some research of your own. For instance, some people would be willing to have a lively debate about whether 4,000 is an accurate estimate of the number of nerve endings in the penis (as opposed to 8,000 in the clit). There’s also a lot to know about Marie Bonaparte, who gets a mention for having some pretty extreme clitoris-altering surgery. Not only was she willing to go to great lengths in pursuit of climax during intercourse, but she was also a psychoanalyst and a sexual researcher in her own right.

There are a lot of facts about the clitoris out there. Start with these five.

We’ve been checking out this collection of charts documenting the popularity of some sex terms over others, in print. We’re not surprised to see that “fuck” didn’t show up much until the 1960s, but we’re curious about the drop in its usage since its peak in 2005. If “hook up” isn’t the next “fuck”, what will be? You can track the print lives of terms like “BJ” and “money shot” here.

Today, Autostraddle features an interview with Mira Bellwether, author and illustrator of Fucking Trans Women, a zine about – you guessed it – trans women and sex. Bellwether describes Fucking Trans Women as “a how-to guide,” and it covers a wide variety of topics, from advice about approaching a partner, to diagrams of nerves in the body, to descriptions of specific sex acts. Says Bellwether,

One of the reasons this zine happened was that I got really sick of explaining things and teaching my lovers about my body during time that should have been spent having sex. When one of my lovers said that she wished she had an instruction manual for my body, I took that and responded to it pretty literally.

As consummate sex geeks, we appreciate her turning a teachable moment into a learning opportunity for the rest of us. Check out the full interview here. (NSFW)

The 4th might be over, but the fireworks don’t have to end. Drop by our LA store for free workshops to learn dazzling tips and techniques to make your sex life hotter. From simple bondage techniques and burlesque to blowjobs and spanking, we’ve got a little something for everyone.

“Doing all that tying takes too long!” is a common lament of BDSMers. Join Jay Wiseman, one of the nation’s leading experts on rope bondage, to learn how to accomplish almost any bondage effect you want by using techniques that take less than one minute to apply. People of all experience levels are invited to come learn in this special hands-on workshop.

Learn how to take it off like a pro! Join Sex Specialist Kitty Cadillac as she shows you how to tantalize and tease your lover in the bedroom. Put on a private show they won’t forget. She will guide you through hot exotic dance moves, sensual glove and stocking peels, and how to give a sexy lap dance. It’s role playing at its finest!

Want to have him squirming in his seat? Our Sex Specialists will show you how to use your mouth, hands, and more to give mind-blowing blowjobs. We’ll cover male anatomy, tips and tricks, the truths and myths of “deep throat” plus other sexy secrets that are sure to have him begging for more.

Looking to make your sex a little naughty? Let our Sex Specialists bring you into the wonderful world of erotic spanking and roleplay. We’ll show you how to combine spanking with sex in a fun and consensual way. This workshop is perfect if you’re feeling curious, need help getting started, or just want to fine-tune your technique.